Letters to the editor

All events are community events

In the Aug. 6 Pique there was a great story written in regards to events and how key they are to the success of the whole corridor in the future.

There was also a line drawn in regards to community versus non-profit events that I would like to elaborate on if I could be so bold.

All events are community events and the point Cliff Miller makes about the need to put back in is key to the long-term health of our trail network.

Not just events but the whole business community, from the guys who sell Slurpees and gas to the fancy restaurants with 20 bikes on car racks out front spending $$. In Whistler we get lots of help from the hotel tax that kicks in funding for local trail maintenance.

I have been putting on the Cheakamus Challenge for 20 years and have always tried to be the good partner by working with local communities to build the infrastructure, not just for the locals but also the people who bring $ to the area. Close to 90 per cent of our budget was spent in the corridor!

This year, working with Bicycles for Humanity and our guiding business, Whistler Bike Guides, we donated and transported 26 bikes to kids in Mt. Currie. We have also donated thousands of dollars to the Cops for Cancer program for children with terminal illness.

Over 20 years we have invested more than $25,000 in cash and labour into the trails that the race impacts and have worked for FREE to keep the Sea to Sky Trail route active and on the radar of land managers.

We have had help from Whistler Bike Guide and Bear Back Biking in doing trail maintenance on the route for the past five years.

Now that the S2S Trail is going full bore under the guidance of an engaged and active board and executive director this investment has paid off.

In regards to the trails, the SLRD has now assumed the liability for all trails on Crown land that get recognized and adopted - big step!

There is also the new parcel tax that is being applied to every parcel in the SLRD which will go to maintain and repair trails in the corridor, which will be in the $200k-$300k range per year!

Good news is on the horizon.

FYI, the FOR-PROFIT events that everyone talks about are also non-profits and money losers. Most of us don't go for the non-profit status because we hope to one day recover our losses. The paperwork involved to become and maintain a non-profit is another 100 hours of unpaid time.